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With a few swipes of your finger, you can find directions, pay bills and check bank balances on
a smartphone or tablet.

Now some companies want you to do the same to hire a “black-car” service for a night of
barhopping or pick up a ride to dinner from a part-time chauffeur. Payments are made beforehand,
online.

The companies fashion themselves as tech upstarts, brokering deals between willing drivers and
eager passengers for a commission. But critics say the apps could prove dangerous if drivers and
vehicles aren’t held to the same standards as other for-hire fleets.

“It’s basically operating as a cab or a limousine without providing any credentials or going
through the hoops,” said Dan Slyby, owner of National Allstate Limousine in Columbus. “I’m not
worried (about competition), but I think they need to be properly licensed and regulated.”

The services let drivers use a smart-phone app to let riders know that they’re available. Riders
use the same app to hire the cars and pay the driver. Drivers keep most of the fare, but the app
companies take a cut. One company plans to work with locally licensed livery drivers, but others
will hire anyone with a car who passes their employment screening.

Ride sharing already is popular in some large cities, and now the app companies could be looking
at Columbus as a new market. Columbus’ Vehicle for Hire Board formed a committee last month to
consider how the city should regulate the companies, which don’t maintain their own vehicles.

The California Public Utilities Commission outlined 28 rules this month for app-based services
that connect passengers with drivers who use their personal vehicles. The rules say that drivers
must be licensed in the state, undergo criminal-background checks and hold commercial liability
insurance.

San Francisco-based Uber is considering bringing its Uber Black service to Columbus. The company
contracts with licensed livery owners and drivers to provide black-car service, taking a cut of the
fare for acting as the go-between, said spokeswoman Nairi Hourdajian.

She likened the service to Expedia, which brokers air fares and other travel services to online
customers.

In Columbus, limousines and town cars must be hired ahead of time, while taxis can be hailed on
the spot. Uber Black is a hybrid of both, offering on-demand luxury transportation.

Amanda Ford, spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Public Safety, said the city might have to
change its definition of
livery to accommodate the company.

“We’d have to make a few minor code changes, but I appreciate the fact that they want to use our
existing fleet here that’s already licensed,” she said.

Yellow Cab President Jeff Kates said the committee needs to learn more before it establishes any
guidelines.

“It’s not obvious as to how they’re doing business,” he said of the apps. “We want to be clear
(about) what the city is getting.”

Because Uber Black would use licensed livery operators, it would not operate like any
traditional ride-sharing service. Typical ride-sharing services have drivers who use their personal
vehicles as a cab.

Lyft, which describes itself as “your friend with a car,” is hiring Columbus and Cleveland
drivers who are at least 23 years old and own a car that is in good working condition and model
year 2000 or newer, according to its website. The company did not respond to a request for comment,
but its website says drivers must pass a “phone screen, an in-person meeting and background &
DMV checks.”

Drivers receive 80 percent of the fare; the company keeps the rest.

“I’m not sure how this is all going to work out,” said Janice Snyder, owner of Aladdin
Limousines in Columbus.